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India awarded crowd-ruined match

Faisal Shariff

India vs West Indies: 3rd ODI Rajkot, India

Scorecard Graphical Analysis

Crowd disturbance spoilt a great batting display by Virender Sehwag, who scored his third one-day century, as India were awarded the third one-dayer against the West Indies, at Rajkot, on the Duckworth-Lewis system, by 81 runs.

Board of Control for Cricket in India president Jagmohan Dalmiya and the Rajkot association will have a lot to answer for the mess.

If the unruly crowd in Jamshedpur was a blip, repeat performances by the spectators in Nagpur and Rajkot indeed cut a sorry figure. The match should have been called off without a result instead of it being awarded to India.

The security arrangements at the ground were abysmal, with the cops, instead of facing the crowd and looking for the mischievous elements, gleefully watching the proceedings.

Crowd trouble is a problem even the West Indies face back home, as does England. It is yet to be resolved and must be dealt with it severely before a player is fatally injured.

West Indies innings

India seems to have stumbled upon a perennial but relevant problem while experimenting with its batting order. It is the bowling department which lies in tatters in the absence of Zaheer Khan.

The West Indies, spruced up by early success in the one-day series, were inserted by Sourav Ganguly at Rajkot. Keeping their rich vein of form alive, their batsmen shred the Indian bowling attack to pieces, registering 300 runs off their allotted 50 overs.

India dropped Anil Kumble and brought back all-rounder J P Yadav despite reports that Sanjay Bangar would get a look-in for the game.

West Indies skipper Carl Hooper, struggling with a knee injury, sat out, and Ricardo Powell got his first outing in India while Cameron Cuffy replaced Corey Collymore. Wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs led the side.

On a two-paced wicket, Javagal Srinath snapped up Wavell Hinds with one that pitched on middle, swung away from the left-handed opener and took an edge to VVS Laxman at first slip. The Windies openers were separated at 36 for 1 in the ninth over.

Chris Gayle, meanwhile, struck Srinath for consecutive boundaries in the 11th over, through extra-cover, as the Windies crossed the 50-run mark.

Ashish Nehra induced an edge off Marlon Samuels that flew to Laxman at second slip, hit his palms but flew away towards the boundary fence. Samuels smashed 14 runs off Agarkar in the next over, which included a couple of boundaries.

Samuels and Gayle wove a brisk 50-run partnership before the former nicked Ganguly off his fourth ball. Rahul Dravid, standing up at the wicket, held on to it. (93-2)

Gayle was at his destructive best, smacking Nehra straight over his head for a six. He then brought up his 13th one-day international half-century off 46 balls, pulling Agarkar for a flat six over mid-wicket. He was, however, not as successful against Harbhajan Singh. Looking to pull a short ball from the offie, he dragged it on to his wickets. (119-3)

A 149-run partnership between Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul pulled the plug on the Indian bowlers. Their partnership was the West Indies' best for the fourth wicket in a limited-overs international against India, beating the 126 between Carl Hooper and Jimmy Adams, in Jaipur in 1994.

Sarwan and Chanderpaul then took charge. The left-handed Chanderpaul hit Harbhajan for two fours in an over before sweeping him for a single to bring up a 53-ball 50. Sarwan brought up his half-century in style, driving Virender Sehwag over long-on for a six and then hitting Srinath over extra-cover for six more.

Chanderpaul finally fell trying to accelerate the run-rate when he was caught by J P Yadav off Harbhajan (268-4). Sarwan followed soon after, caught behind, as he tried to pull Nehra over the on-side. (272-5).

The West Indies completed their 50 overs, posting an imposing 300 runs, which had 30 boundaries and five sixes.

India innings

Virender Sehwag had yet to set the ongoing one-day series on fire with his blade. With 301 to get in 50 overs, the young firebrand chose Rajkot to display his pyrotechnics.

The criticism was piling against his inability to play the short-pitched stuff. Michael Holding and Vivian Richards commented about his weakness against short-pitched bowling in their columns. Some weeks ago coach John Wright had pointed out to Sehwag that the bowlers would target him with the short-pitched stuff and advised him to be careful.

With a huge smile across his face, Sehwag said he was waiting for that to happen. He had a counter strategy ready for the short deliveries. Wright said he had never known any batsman who smiled at the thought of being peppered with the shorter stuff.

Today, before the halfway stage, the young batsman raised his third one-day century from just 75 balls, with a single to mid-wicket. Seventy per cent of those runs were scored on the leg-side

Driving medium-pacer Vasbert Drakes through the covers for four, and sending his slower ball down the ground for another boundary, Ganguly got the Indian innings off to a screaming start.

Sehwag punched Mervyn Dillon's overpitched delivery for a straight four and then, making room for himself outside leg-stump, slashed him over the slips for a four to the third man fence.

Ganguly cut Drakes with both his feet in the air and then drove the same bowler through extra-cover to bring up the team 50 in the eighth over.

In the next over, Ganguly read a slower ball from Dillon and sent it rocketing to the long-on fence.

Sehwag then set the ground ablaze in the 13th over, dismantling part-time spinner Chris Gayle for three fours and a six to race to his 50 off just 38 balls. India’s hundred was up in 81 balls, and at the 15-over mark the score was 120 without loss.

Ganguly hit Drakes for his seventh boundary to reach his 50 off only 51 deliveries. Sehwag drove the Windies bowlers to despair as even a slight error in length was punished unsparingly. He cut leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo for two boundaries and got his century, which included 14 fours and two sixes, off 75 balls, before the halfway stage of the Indian innings.

The chase had become defunct as the required rate plunged to four an over, this after the target set was 301.

Ganguly was dismissed for 72, when Chanderpaul pulled off a sharp chance off the bowling of Drakes. India had lost their first wicket for 196.

Crowd disturbance yet again held up the game, forcing match referee Mike Procter to suspend play. The players walked back to the pavilion even as the police and the administrators tried to quell the crowd.

After an hour's stoppage, the game was awarded to India according to the Duckworth-Lewis method.

India needed to be 119 after the 27th over, according to the Duckworth-Lewis chart; they were 200 for 1.

Sehwag pocketed the man-of-the-match award for his blitzkrieg 114.